Members Assist Pope’s Denver Visit

When Pope John Paul II visited Denver this summer, the approximately ten thousand volunteers needed to make things run smoothly for the Roman Catholic Church’s World Youth Day included a solid complement of local Latter-day Saints.

Members of the Church participated in everything from housing some of the 180,000 young people attending the week-long event to supplying interpreters for non–English-speaking participants.

“The Mormon community here in Denver has been very helpful,” said World Youth Day Committee spokesperson Cindy Matthews. “They were one of the first groups to come forward and offer their services.”

During the August 11–15 event, members of the Church staffed information centers, passed out registration packets, prepared press credentials, gave medical assistance, and helped set up and clean up after activities. Missionaries from the Colorado Denver South Mission helped prepare a parking site. And during the final month before the event, the Aurora Colorado Stake alone provided many volunteers who gave more than twelve hundred hours of service.

The five-day activity was designed to provide religious education, increase faith, and offer interaction with Pope John Paul II.